George Benson is simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, but
he is also an amazingly versatile musician; and that frustrates critics to no
end who would
paint him into a narrow bop box. He can play in just about any style -- from
swing to bop to R&B to pop -- with supreme taste, a beautiful rounded tone,
terrific speed, a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and, always, an
unquenchable urge to swing. His inspirations may have been
Charlie Christian and
Wes Montgomery -- and he can do dead-on impressions of both -- but his style
is completely his own. Not only can he play lead brilliantly, he is also one of
the best rhythm guitarists around, supportive to soloists and a dangerous
swinger, particularly in a soul-jazz format. Yet
George Benson can also sing in a lush soulful tenor with mannerisms similar to
those of
Stevie Wonder and
Donny Hathaway; and it is his voice that has proved to be more marketable to
the public than his guitar.
George Benson is the guitar-playing equivalent of
Nat "King" Cole -- a fantastic pianist whose smooth way with a pop vocal
eventually eclipsed his instrumental prowess in the marketplace -- but unlike
Cole,
George Benson has been granted enough time after his fling with the pop charts to
reaffirm his jazz guitar credentials, which he still does at his concerts.
George Benson actually started out professionally as a singer, performing in
nightclubs at eight, recording four sides for RCA's X label in 1954, forming a
rock band at 17 while using a guitar that his stepfather made for him. Exposure
to records by
Christian,
Montgomery, and
Charlie Parker got him interested in jazz, and by 1962, the teenaged
George Benson was playing in
Brother Jack McDuff's band. After forming his own group in 1965,
George Benson became another of talent scout
John Hammond's major discoveries, recording two highly regarded albums of
soul-jazz and hard bop for Columbia and turning up on several records by others,
including
Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky. He switched to Verve in 1967, and, shortly
after the death of
Montgomery in June 1968, producer
Creed Taylor began recording
George Benson with larger ensembles on A&M (1968-1969) and big groups and all-star
combos on CTI (1971-1976).
While the A&M and CTI albums certainly earned their keep and made
George Benson a guitar star in the jazz world, the mass market didn't catch on
until he began to emphasize vocals after signing with Warner Bros. in 1976. His
first album for Warner Bros., Breezin', became a Top Ten hit on the strength of
its sole vocal track, "This Masquerade," and this led to a string of hit albums
in an R&B-flavored pop mode, culminating with the
Quincy Jones-produced Give Me the Night. As the '80s wore on, though,
George Benson's albums became riddled with commercial formulas and inferior
material, with his guitar almost entirely relegated to the background. Perhaps
aware of the futility of chasing the charts (after all, "This Masquerade" was a
lucky accident),
George Benson reversed his field late in the '80s to record a fine album of
standards, Tenderly, and another with the
Basie band, his guitar now featured more prominently. His pop-flavored work
also improved noticeably in the '90s.
George Benson retains the ability to spring surprises on his fans and critics, like
his dazzlingly idiomatic TV appearance and subsequent record date with
Benny Goodman in 1975 in honor of
John Hammond, and his awesome command of the moment at several Playboy Jazz
Festivals in the 1980s. His latter-day recordings include the 1998 effort
Standing Together and 2000's Absolute Benson. All Blues appeared in spring 2001
followed by Irreplaceable in 2004. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
George Benson for your next corporate or private event.
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